So guys. Hatoful Boyfriend. I really love that pigeon dating sim game. I thought it was basically a joke but then when the English patch came out, I realized it was so, so much more. It pokes fun at dating sim conventions while simultaneously being a loving and surprisingly well-written homage. After enough play you don’t even notice that the characters onscreen are actually birds, because the writing sucks you in, and it’s uncanny how often the game will manage to address an objection you’ve just mentally raised. If you haven’t tried it yet, I recommend it! I know I’m buying the paid version the second it’s out in English!

Nageki’s route was by far my favorite. Precious, precious baby. I won’t spoil why it’s so awesome, but I will say that it never entered my mind that I could have that many FEELINGS about a fictional mourning dove. Bonus: Easy outfit! Less of a bonus: Nageki basically lives in a library 24/7, and it’s kind of hard to do a photoshoot in a library with a green wig without getting caught and then summarily kicked out. (I’ve done a few photoshoots in prohibited areas before and it’s always kind of a crapshoot whether you’ll get away with it, get caught and sent away, or worse, get caught and forced to delete pictures and then sent away.) So thanks to the Redwood City library for NOT kicking us out! Love you guys. :D

I emailed Moa, the author, to ask whether cosplay was OK and what kind of books Nageki would read in English. She was so helpful it was unbelievable, and told me that he mostly reads novels and that in the paid version he actually reads Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Obviously this time of year I couldn’t find that, so I just grabbed some other Dickens books and went to town being sad and quiet in a library.

I hope you pigeon-daters enjoy this! It was really fun to wear and shoot (I love sweaters okay).